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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

Neves nodded in during added time to claim a narrow victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having produced only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a well-taken volley in first-half added time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and his compatriot secured the win in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary chance after Norway’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot probably beckons for the Italian squad.